OscailtThe Zapatistas: A New Strategy in MexicoAnarchist analysis of the repercussions of the news from Chiapas2005-11-18T10:30:31+08:00Anarkismoanarkismoeditors@lists.riseup.nethttp://www.anarkismo.net/atomfullposts?story_id=1776http://www.anarkismo.net/graphics/feedlogo.gifThe Zapatistas and Sexual Freedomhttp://www.anarkismo.net/article/1776#comment15872005-11-18T10:30:31+08:00kdogAs usual this is an excellent discussion piece from WSM comrades. I particularly...As usual this is an excellent discussion piece from WSM comrades. I particularly agree with te conclusion that: <br />
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" The challenge of the Zapatista movement for anarchists has been how to have real solidarity with a movement that contains such ambiguities. And how to learn what there is to learn - and tell others - without becoming unthinking cheer leaders."<br />
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NorthStar comrades share the enthusiasm for the strengths Zapatista revolution, while also having concerns of where the weaknesses might take it.<br />
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One area that stuck out to me was how consistently the latest communiques from the EZLN and Marcos encouraged the participation of lesbians and gay men in the common struggle against Power. <br />
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While this isn't proof of an inherit antiauthoritarian nature to the EZLN, it is yet another way that the Zapatistas have broken with Left guerilla orthodoxy. They do truly seem more concerned with human freedom in its totality then obtaining Power for the organization.Thanks for this!http://www.anarkismo.net/article/1776#comment15882005-11-18T14:13:39+08:00ColinI really enjoyed this piece. I heard a bit about the Red Alert in Chiapas and wa...I really enjoyed this piece. I heard a bit about the Red Alert in Chiapas and was curious about what exactly it meant. The ELZN is something that seems to have faded out of the collective memory of a lot of anarchists, especially in the US.thankshttp://www.anarkismo.net/article/1776#comment16002005-11-19T02:33:41+08:00NilExcellent essay, thanks so much, very helpful.Excellent essay, thanks so much, very helpful.You've gotta be kiddinhttp://www.anarkismo.net/article/1776#comment16452005-11-26T02:56:55+08:00HenryAmazing! Only an idealist living in a fantasy world could spin capitulation as s...Amazing! Only an idealist living in a fantasy world could spin capitulation as some kind of vindication. I'm all for workers self management, in fact I see no other way forward, but this isn't a case to use to promote those ideas!Not much sensehttp://www.anarkismo.net/article/1776#comment16482005-11-26T04:35:41+08:00JoeYou not making any argument at all there 'Henry' except perhaps a all too predic...You not making any argument at all there 'Henry' except perhaps a all too predicatable knee jerk reaction from those who see the gun as coming before all else in politics. We've seen how that works out with the IRPs and it is not very attractive.
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One attraction of the Zapatistas is their understanding that the military has to be under the actual control of the community they claim to represent. And that a military movement that involves itself in crime will become corrupted.
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As to capitulation - capitulation to whom? Unless you are demanding some sort of offensive action which might sound cool but which on the ground would be a massacre - not of the combatants but of the civilian communities they exist to protect.
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There are models which have involved armed struggle that we can learn from - and then there are those like the IRPs from whom the only lesson is what not to do. Whatever the flaws in the Zapatistas they are not regarded by the public as a sectarian murder gang or a bunch of criminals.ultraleft dogmahttp://www.anarkismo.net/article/1776#comment16562005-11-27T11:38:14+08:00HenryWhat you've said is just ultraleft dogma, Joe. Bringing up the issue of the INLA...What you've said is just ultraleft dogma, Joe. Bringing up the issue of the INLA's past armed struggle is just not relevant. It's also a complete misrepresentation, as the INLA recognised the mistakes being made and implemented changes. It was the army that you call corrupt which led the restructuring throughout the movement.<br />
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I never mentioned anything about the Zapatista's ceasefire, which is readily apparent. That military cessation was a foregone conclusion due to the strength of the Mexican government as a result of the USA's military aid. My comments reflected my disgust the cheerleading of their reformist orientation, and the current politics there that are as depressingly dead end as the 'peace' process.<br />
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There's nothing wrong with this ... if we realise the limitations of it. This was never going to be much more than that with this cause; it was by nature a reformist project attempting to fight the excesses of globalisation. It's not as if the movement was even contemplating taking power. This is of course not meant as a criticism of the EZLN as it is a comment on the deeply backwards conditions in the racial/caste system of Mexico.<br />
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The problem is when Leftists come along worshiping the EZLN as if they're a new model to emulate. This doesn't seem sound to me given that they've now watered down their demands and are like SF stuck in a reformist bourgeois political process with no options left.<br />
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Even more annoying is when various political groups use the Zapatistas to 'sell' their particular brand of ideology. As one libertarian marxist writer wrote: 'Everyone from anarchists to Marxist-Leninists, indigenous people’s freaks to social democrats, primitivists to ‘Third World’ developmentalists - all seemed able to see what they wanted in the struggle in Chiapas.'Jargonhttp://www.anarkismo.net/article/1776#comment16572005-11-27T18:54:25+08:00JoeHenry it is hard to see the political point you are trying to make behind jargon...Henry it is hard to see the political point you are trying to make behind jargon. 'Ultra-left' in particular is a meaningless term when applied to anarchism - its comes out of Lenin having a go at German marxists.
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My point about the IRPs was to inform readers of where I reckoned you were coming from. The perspective of a top down semi-leninist organisation that claimed to wage war on behalf of a community and which degenerated into what is widely seen as another sectarian / criminal gang. The zapatistas have critiqued identical (but more successful) armed strategies in their region and with relation to ETA so knowing where you are coming from puts your hostility in that context. You reckon that led by its military wing the IRPs have now turned a corner - not the first time this has been claimed. But for those of us who see the problem in the model of organisation rather than bad individuals or state intervention this is not a claim that is convincing.
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Anyway as this is about the Zapatistas rather than the IRPs I do want you to expand your criticism of the zapatistas beyond sloganeering about their 'reformism'. What exactly do you mean by this. What do you see as the alternatives? Despite where your coming from you might have a contribution to make if you can move from asserting a position to making an argument for it.
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The question of how you see the struggle in Chiapas is important in this. The anarchist interest is easy to understand due to the similarities between the civilian side of decision making in the Zapatista communities and the sort of decision making structures anarchists talk about. But discussion of this has generally included criticisms of aspects of Zapatista ideology as well. As with the above article.
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I'll give Marcos the last word on this (this was written in relation to ETA but applies here two)<br>
<i>We don't see why we would ask you what we should do or how we should do it. What are you going to teach us? To kill journalists who speak badly about the struggle? To justify the death of children for reason of the "cause"? We don't need or want your support or solidarity. We already have the support and solidarity of many people in Mexico and the world. Our struggle has a code of honor, inherited from our guerilla ancestors and it contains, among other things: respect of civilian lives (even though they may occupy government positions that oppress us); we don't use crime to get resources for ourselves (we don't rob, not even a snack store); we don't respond to words with fire (even though many hurt us or lie to us). One could think that to renounce these traditionally "revolutionary" methods is renouncing the advancement of our struggle. But, in the faint light of our history it seems that we have advanced more than those that resort to such arguments (more to demonstrate their radical nature and consequences than to effectively serve their cause)</i>Dissolution of FZLNhttp://www.anarkismo.net/article/1776#comment16842005-11-29T19:17:01+08:00AndrewThe comment on the dissolution of the FZLN has been moved to the
thread where w...<P>The comment on the dissolution of the FZLN has been moved to the
thread where we are carrying the communiques on this at <A HREF="http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=1848">http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=1848</A>.
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I've nothing in particular to add to the discussion of reformism - mostly because it is not clear what is being talked about - but it is an odd accusation to make <b>now</b> when the Zapatista strategy seems to be shifting from a the reformist 'civil society + democracy' one on the national level to a more revolutionary 'the left and anti-capitalism'. It would have made a lot more sense before the release of the '6th declaration' - perhaps its based on a rather old article/analysis? In which case I suggest reading the article above and the communiques it links to.